Liam Payne‘s friend Roger Nores has withdrawn his defamation lawsuit against Geoff Payne (pictured above) — even without an apology!
As Perezcious readers know, after the One Direction singer died, Roger was charged with the death, though his charges were later dropped. He also filed a suit against the singer’s dad, accusing him of making false and defamatory statements about him and claiming he was responsible for looking after the 31-year-old at the time of his death — which was something the Argentinian businessman denied.
Related: Zayn Malik Emotionally Honors One Direction 10 Years After Exit
When his charges were dropped, Roger told TMZ he’d consider dropping the lawsuit only if Geoff apologized. But now, it seems he had a total change of heart!
Per Rolling Stone, Roger asked the court to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit on Wednesday. TMZ added that he did so without prejudice, meaning he WILL be able to refile the suit in the future.
He explained his decision in an email sent to Richard Bray, Liam’s estate attorney, which Rolling Stone obtained. In it, he noted Geoff “doesn’t need to apologize.” He reflected:
“I’ll always remember when [Geoff] came to me the first night at the ranch after I had picked them up at the airport, how he asked me to promise I would never give up on Liam, no matter what. I kept that promise right until the end, and it was pretty hard.”
While it sounds like there may still be some hurt feelings due to the messy aftermath of the tragedy, Roger continued:
“In spite of how everything turned out and Geoff saying in his statement to the police [that] ‘this is all Roger’s responsibility,’ I would have done this 100 times over because I loved Liam with all my heart and I miss him everyday.”
Aw! Roger also told TMZ that he’s tired and wants to stop fighting and focus on productive stuff instead. We totally get it. These last few months must’ve been such an emotional whirlwind for him.
Roger had been planning to donate any money possibly awarded from the lawsuit to Liam’s son, Bear, but now he’d rather the whole thing be put to rest. We’re sure the Payne family is relieved. A legal battle like this is the last thing any of them needed while mourning the devastating and shocking death. So far, Geoff hasn’t reacted to the legal update.
Thoughts? Let us know (below).
[Image via WENN & One Direction/YouTube]
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